Euro falls on Greece downgrade

Foreign money exchanges will be cheaper today as the value of euro plummeted to a one-year low after Greece was downgraded by Moody's.

The credit agency changed its rating for the Mediterranean nation after it emerged that Greece's budget deficit stands at 13.6 per cent of GDP, higher than previously thought.

Moody's altered its rating on the country's sovereign debt from A3 to A2.

Following this, the euro fell to $1.3201 earlier this morning (Friday, April 23rd), which is its lowest value against the dollar since April 2009.

Commenting, Sven Schubert, currency analyst at Credit Suisse in Zurich, told Reuters: "The Moody's downgrade is helping to weigh on the euro and it's too early to expect an improvement in Greece's debt situation."

"The euro may bounce back (on data) but the overall picture for the euro is bearish," added Ian Stannard, currency strategist at BNP Paribas, to the news agency.

"It's not economic fundamentals but the eurozone peripheries, especially Greece, that's going to weigh on the market."

Posted by Sarah Pitton

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